this week, from grand bargain to mad scramble. >> we have now run out of time. the white house won't get serious, we will. as default loom, congress and the president struggle to pick up the pieces and our headliner prepares for the unthinkable. >> if congress does not raise the debt limit it would be catastrophic. >> we ask treasury secretary tim geithner whether there is a plan to deal with the economic chaos of default. as the heat on the hill rises our round trouble weigh in. paradise lost. a lone wolf turns norway into a nightmare. the latest on the oslo massacre. plus, history in new york today as hundreds of gays and lesbians tie the knot and the mayor himself officiates at one of those weddings. >> it's a statement that new york is open to everyone and we value everybody's rights.

>> we talk to michael bloomberg about marriage, taxes and washington on the rocks. welcome to the program and there's lots to get to today but first, some news since your morning papers. it's a day of remembrance in norway. a country that's reeling from friday's bombing and shooting massacre that killed 93 people. this morning in oslo, a memorial service of sorrow and hope. the king and queen are there as is norway's prime minister who declared that we will never give up our values, our answer is more democracy, more openness, more humanity. abc's miguel marquez joins us with more of what's been described as the first massive attack by somebody who's described as a christian extremist amid fears that it could become a rallying cry for the right wing fringe in europe.

>> reporter: christiane, we are learning much more about the self-confessed shooter anders behring breivik hours before he went on his rampage. he posted a video and a 1,500-page manifesto online. it's a racist anti-islamic creed urging european conservatives to embrace martyrdom and also hearing some incredible survivor stories. adrian pracon was shot in the shoulder but lived because he played death. >> i could hear his breathing. i could also feel his boots very near me, and i could feel the warmth from the barrel when he pulled the trigger. >> reporter: today is a mournful day across the entire country. there wasn't a dry eye at the cathedral in oslo as leaders and citizens gathered in a service of sorrow and hope. tomorrow breivik will be in court. he has called his actions gruesome but necessary. his lawyer says he'll explain himself tomorrow. christiane? >> miguel marquez in norway. we turn now to the debt talks in washington where

congressional leaders are racing against the clock to try to show some sign of progress in the debt talks before the asian markets in a few hours from now. and abc's senior political correspondent jonathan karl has been following the talks and, jonathan, where do thinks stand right now? >> reporter: leaders in both parties are determined to have agreement or the framework of an agreement done by 4:00 this afternoon before those asian markets open. the fear is that if there is no at least framework for an agreement then it will be a market downturn possibly a severe one as markets an the world react to this. democrats, by the way, are signaling that if that happens they will be calling it the boehner drop blaming republicans for what happens. meanwhile, the talks on the hill have basically deadlocked over the issue of whether or not this will would be an extension to take the debt ceiling all the way to 2013 past the presidential election. republicans are signaling they want two votes, one now, tied to

about a trillion dollars in spends cuts. and another one next year tied to further spending cuts. as you know, christiane, the white house has signaled that any such temporary increase is simply unacceptable, in fact, the president has said repeatedly he would veto it. >> jonathan, quickly, obviously the talks between speaker boehner and president obama is what collapsed on friday. but there's word that they may be speaking again together. what do you know about that? >> reporter: christiane, i am told that the efforts to revive that grand bargain have revived. that speaker boehner is still considering and still probing with the white house the possibility of a big deal that would be nearly $4 trillion in deficit reduction and include $800 billion in added tax revenues over the next ten years. if he goes this route, i am told he will face a revolt from his republicans in the house, including his fellow leaders, eric cantor, kevin mccarthy. it's a very risky move for him but i'm told he's still considering it.

>> treasury secretary tim geithner joins me now. he would have to manage the chaos if the united states defaults for the first time in history. secretary geithner, thank you for being here. well, you just heard what jonathan said about what's on the table. is it possible that there will be a framework deal in place by 4:00 p.m. this afternoon. >> i hope so. again, both leaders recognize they're running out of time. they need to get this process moving in the house by monday night to achieve that deadline. they need to have a framework that they know with complete confidence will pass both houses of congress and is acceptable to the president and that should happen today. >> you think it can happen before the markets open in asia? >> well, again, what they're trying to do if you listen to what the speaker has said is try to make sure they demonstrate that they have a framework that can pasasboth houses of congress and the esident can sign and we're making progress, they are. >> jonathan raised several incarnations of potential deals. the two-part deal, the grand deal. what will it be? >> well, there are two types of frameworks that are on the

table. one is the framework that the president and the speaker of the house have been going back and forth on for some time, a comprehensive, balanced set of savings on the spending side to help secure medicare/medicaid for the future and tax reform that would generate revenues. >> they are talking again. >> yeah, absolutely, they've been in touch throughout this period of time. but there's also the proposal senator mcconnell and reid made that would agree on up-front savings but would establish a committee with exceptional powers that could legislate quickly, as way to force congress or make it easier for congress to make the tough choices we have to make. both of those are on the table. those could be combined in various forms. the most important thing we can't adopt an approach that leaves the threat of default hanging over the country for another six months or so. that would be deeply irresponsible to do. and we do not think that's acceptable burden to put on the american economy. >> well, also some investors are beginning to panic. i mean people are saying, you know, who's in charge? who is running this country?

has everybody gone out of their minds? >> you know, this is a critical test for the american political system and a critical test forcongress and republican leaders in congress. the eyes of the world are on us and are looking to see whether the united states of america as it always has done in the past meet our obligation and pay our bills will start to make progress. >> what will you say to the world to reassure them this will be in place by this afternoon? a framework. >> the leaders have said, republican, not just democrats are not going to d dault. we will meet our obligations. what we're trying to do is not just achieve that but make sure we put in place a framework that allows congress to make the tough decisions we need to make to get our fiscal house in order. >> now, mr. secretary, you and speaker boehner last week shook hands on a deal that involved $800 billion worth of revenue. >> no, let me stop you there. >> all sides are saying that. >> no, that's not true. we got close.

>> did you make a deal with him? >> no, we did not. the president and the speaker got very close but there was a whole range of things yet to be resolved at that point when the speaker pulled out friday. >> did you agree on that revenue number, 800 billion? >> we did not and, again, at that point -- >> are you saying that the speaker is not telling the truth? >> no, he didn't say it quite that way -- >> they have said that you agreed with him on $800 billion of revenue. >> christiane, i can assure you that's not the case. at that point, the republicans were still asking for deeper cuts in medicare and medicaid than we thought was acceptable. our position was, as you heard the president say, we want to make sure the deal is balanced so we're not putting too much of the burden of getting our fiscal house in order on the backs of elderly americans and the most vulnerable. and so at that point, we were very close. but we're not there yet. >> is 800 billion in revenue a number that you would accept? >> well, that's a judgment we'll have to make in looking at the rest of the entire package but, again, i think the important thing and i think the voices of

reason across the political spectrum are getting stronger because you've seen republicans recognize for the first time and i give the speaker a huge amount of credit for this, that a balanced framework acceptable to the american people is going to have to require tax reform that generates more revenues. >> president obama has ordered, and he did very conspicuously on friday, congress to go away and come back and show him how they're going to avoid a default. what's president obama's plan? >> well, the president put on the table back in april and it's been discussed as you know first in talks that the vice president led and with the speaker and all of the leadership a comprehensive balanced set of savings, you know, force the government to use the resources of the taxpayer more wisely, more carefully to put savings in place to help make sure we're securing medicare, medicaid and social security for future generation. but also tax reforms that will

generate more benefit. that's the framework the president first put out in april and been negotiating towards. i know it's hard to read this because it's a political town. >> is this going to get done? >> there is a lot of politics there, but it has to get done. there is no choice, no alternative. failure is not an option and the leaders recognize that. what is happening there are very loud voices in the republican party up there in congress who have been n ying for months that we should force the country to default for the first time in history. >> but not the leadership. >> no, not the leadership but a pretty large member of congress, large number of members of congress in both houses have been saying we should default unless the president of the united states agrees to deep cuts in benefits for the elderly, the most vulnerable in order to make sure we can extend and sustain incredibly generous tax preferences for the top 2% of americans and that's not something that's acceptable to the american people and not something we'll accept.

>> the american people are getting increasingly frustrated. you've seen 80% of the people are very frustrated with the way all this is working. >> and they should be frustrateded >> what i want to know is, are you going to, and could you even though the president has said his lawyers say it's not appropriate, use the 14th amendment if there is no other choice? >> it is not a workable option. >> the president says it can be done. >> we've looked at this as president clinton and his lalaers when he was president and this is not a workable option to limit the damage to the american people that would come from congress not agreeing to raise -- to avoid a default crisis. >> the president also, president obama talked to you and you've talked to the chairman of the fed and others about how to contain a chaos if there is a default. how do you contain chaos if there is a default? >> again, the only way to limit the damage to the american people that would come from congress failing to act is for congress to act to raise the debt limit. >> but if they don't. >> that's the only option available. we do not have the ability to limit -- >> how will it be done, by magic? >> no, they're going to pass a

debt limit increase. they'll avoid a default crisis as they've all said. if you listen carefully speaker boehner, senator mcconnell have said unequivocally the country will not default. we will meet our obligations. the problem isishey have a loud frankly irresponsible minority in their parties that want to take the country to the edge of default. an that's not acceptable. >> i interrupted you on the consequences of default. is there way to manage it? >> it would cause irreparable damage to the commercial economy and would be devastated to our credible as a country and not something you can undo. and that's why it's not an acceptable option and the people who advocate it are deeply irresponsible. >> secretary geithner, thank you very much, indeed, for joining us. >> nice to see you. is there a glimmer of progress? joining me in our round table, george will, arianna huffington, founder of "the huffington post," former clinton budget director alice rivlin also a member of one of the many y commissions studying solutions

to the debt crisis, and charlie gasparino, senior correspondent for fox business network. good morning, all. you heard what the secretary of the treasury said. george, is the country going to go off the cliff or will there be a deal do you think? >> we were supposed to go off the cliff originally in may. that was the drop dead date then it was moved to august 2nd, a week there this coming tuesday. now suddenly we wake up this morning and mr. geithner, whose credibilility is zero with republicans and this is one reason why, says no, no, 4:00 this afternoon, the asian markets open, and that's the drop dead date. the president this week in his tantrum compress conference said republicans won't say any to anything. they said yes to the ryan budget, the democratic senate said no. they said yes to cap and balance. the only plan put on paper, the president has put not one on paper, the only one debated in the house, the only one to pass a house of congress, had five democratic votes behind it, the

democrats on friday wouldn't even vote on it. they tabled it so their fingerprints wouldn't be on it. who is having trouble saying yes? >> last week, you said the republicans were having trouble saying yes and should take the best deal on the table. do you think tt's not the case anymore? >> no, first of all, they've sent something over and the democrats have said no. sooner or later we're going to get -- i still think to the mcconnell plan which is not plan "b," but it's plan "z" but we will get there sooner or later. >> alice, are you on the edge of your seat? george says something is going to be done. are you nervous? >> george was sanguine. >> i didn't hear sanguine from george but in any case, no, i'm on the edge of my seat but i do not believe we will default. it is unthinkable, i believe for the united states not not to pay its obligation. so i think most people who are involved in this including the president and the leaders in congress understand that and they will come up with something. i'm not sure what they're going to come up with. i know what they should come up

with, which is i believe a grand bargain, everybody compromises, we do need to restrain entitlements. we neeee to cut over spending, defense and xhesic. and we need to reform the tax system in a way that will raise some revenues. that's a clear solution and we ought to be there. >> so, charlie, grand bargain. you have seen the president and george's pointed out -- everybody pointed out that the president has had to move to this idea of cutting because of the republicans and so he's moved. >> right. it depends on the cuts, you know. we don't know exactly what they are. >> do you think that t t republicans are meeting him halfway? >> um -- to a certain -- here's the thing. we have a divided government. when you have a divided government you will have these two forces fighting it out. i think it's a good debate and i think it's irresponsible for geithner to go out and talk

about default. we arereot going to default. we have money on hand to pay off bond holders. why does he keep saying that? if he's worried about the asian markets tonight why does he mention default? >> well, to be fair, he said they weren't going to default. >> he said we might default if we don't raise the debt ceiling. if we don't we have cash on hand to pay off bond holders. i have no problem with this debate. we s suld debate it. but take default out of the picture. it will destroy the markets. he's making it sound like the president might default if we e don't get a debt ceiling and pay defense contractors instead of bond holders. that's the signal he's sending to the markets. >> arianna, do you think the president could go for a short term -- even though he's ruling it out. do you think h hmight be forced to do that? >> first of all, christiane, i think this a completely artificial crisis. most countries have no debt ceiling. we had it in the first world war. it's been raised dozens of times. there is absolutely no reason to

cap it with handling our long-term debt and deficit crisis. >> that's the thing, it is -- >> it is a crisis because they made it a crisis. it's not a real crisis. we have many, many real christ, job crisis, growth crisis, a human capital crisis, an infrastructure crisis. we are not hounding this crisis now. we're hounding a completely artificial crisis. >> isn't it good we're talking about this? for a change -- >> it's not good we're talking about it in this context. even if we get a deal this afternoon, even if we get that grand bargain, it will not solve any of our problems. we still have massive unemployment. kids graduating from college not able to get jobs. and we still have crumbling bridges. so we're not doing anything to solve our real problems. and that's what politicians are supposed to be doing. >> $14 trillion of debt is a big problem and it's growing. >> that's an estimate. you're not perfectly -- if you don't address our growth problem -- >> i've always said that but we

do have to get a handle on it. >> but we are not getting a handle on it. >> we are talking about cuts. >> 1% more of growth would actually do more to solve our problems -- >> growth is anemic but, alice, now that the conversation is over here and the ratings agencies are looking at it they are saying something has to be done about the debt. >> yes, something has to be done. that's been true for a long time. this is, as arianna said, an artificial crisis but it can and should be used since we're here to get a solution to the long-run debt crisis which is real and which will impede growth if we don't solvevet. the worst thing we can do for growth is not to solve the problem of our looming deficit. >> you know, the debt, of course, was the president's position as recently as april and he said, i want a clean extension of this, that is, an extension with nothing attached that would slow the spending merry go round. >> that was a good idea but we're not there now.

>> why is that a good idea? >> for the reasons arianna said. it's not going to be a good solution if you have to do it in 24 hours. >> but you just said we had to do tax reform, entitlement reform, budget reform. all these things. this is an action-forcing moment. >> it is. unfortunately wewee up against a very serious deadline. >> that's why we're going to act. >> i believe that we can get a framework or whatever you want to call it, maybe a two-step process that will give us a solution in the grand bargain scheme. >> but not -- >> it has to be a compromise, george. it has to be something that both republicans and democrats -- >> just to be clear, what you're saying is not having a clean extension has been a good thing? for which we can credit 87 freshmen in the house of representatives who forced the president off his planned -- >> where we are is not a good thing. >> george, there's nothing in all his proposals that deals

with any -- that alice -- and domenici proposed, national tax holiday, a way to bill the infrastructure. all these fundamental problems -- >> let me bring that issue of jobs and infrastructure up. larry summers, former treasury secretary, one of president obama'a'chief economic advisers was speaking earlier this week. and this is what he had to say about the real deficit as he saw it. >> i think the biggest problem the country has now is not the budget deficit. the biggest problem the country has right now is the jobs deficit. >> and actually if you look at people and if you look at the polls, that's what everybody is talking about. where is the job package? >> larry summers when he was, of course, in the white house completely underestimated the jobs crisis. why is it that people have to leave office in order to say why -- to say wise things? >> i will say this, when you talk to small business, okay, i don't want to discount the deficit of $14 trillion not being an issue. you talk to o all businesses they are worried about higher taxes.

they are worried about higher taxes. the payoff that 14 trillion, why aren't they hiring -- they're hoarding cash for a reason and not hiring. i do think this is a jobs issue, as well. if we can get our hands around this, maybe businesses might start hiring. >> the jobs issue is a demand issue. you know that. corporate america has $2 trillion in cash they're not spending. corporate profits are up 60%. it's not the lack of cash. it's not the problem they can't borrow at good rates but the right now -- they don't trust demand. >> why don't they trust demand? >> they'll make demand even weaker. we are going to -- >> how does one tackle this really major issue for the american people and worldwide, the jobs issue? >> the trouble with this conversation is that it assumes we have to choose, it's either jobs or it's deficits. it's b bh. it's been both for a very long time and larry summers failed to see that. if the obama administrtrion had come in early on as early as

2009 when things were falling apart and said, we have to fix the economy, we have to do jobs, we have to do the stimulus but at the same time, we have to fix the long-run deficit problem. if they had done that, and it's a hard sell, but if they had done that, they would have more credibility on the deficit. >> he was threatening to destimulate the economy at that time. he was threatening higher taxes. >> time-out. if i could bring it back to our crisis du jour which is actually -- >> i have another segment coming up. >> the most pregnant remark made in "the washington post" this important from speaker boehner. over the weekend congress willll forge a responsible path forward. the president has marginalized himself. congress is being resuscitated by presidential arrogance and it will come from congress and the president will take it. >> well, we'll see this afternoon what happens on that front. now, what about 2012? you had the candidates weigh in on this. you've also have, george, the story of the week which seemed to be congresswoman michele

bachmann. she released a letter from her physician testifying that her ability to fully function was unquestionable. that didn't stop one of her competitors, tim pawlenty from weighing in. let's listen. >> you got to be president of the united states, you have to be able to do the job every day, all the time. there's no real time off in that job. >> what do you make of that? is that fair game? >> he has a problem, mr. pawlenty and that is that he wants -- when it becomes a binary choice, someone against mitt romney, he wants to be the someone. waiting in the wings is governor perry, who threatens to make a big splash and become the other half of the choice. tim pawlenty raised the question in this case i think is not really dispositive. we have had presidents and senators and ambassadors w wh health problems. there's no reason to believe this is incapacitating. for example, no reason to believe she has health problems. remotely comparable to those that john kennedy had and were never revealed.

>> arianna, do you think it's much a do about nothing? is she getting sort of the female treatment? >> getting the female treatment. reading the original story in "the daily collar," pill popping, this woman cannot handle the stress, she's taken to her bed, to her fainting couch, very good story and if her plane is late, if somebody quits. endless anonymous sources. the problem with michele bachmann is not her migraines. it's what she believes and the idea that somehow she cannot deal, the big boy/man world of stress, it's all sex this. this woman has five kids, 23 foster children. she lives in iowa. i don't think she has a migraine problem. >> let me ask you about rick perry. if he jumps in, i'm not going to ask you about migraines but rick perry. >> i know a lot of people with migraines on wall street and they're having them more lately.

>> how would rick perry shake this up? >> i talk to a lot of wall street guys thinking about romney or obama right now. kind of right now divided. you know, i don't think a guy from texas can -- i just think there's a texas taint to it all and i know the big money on the street in new york, i don't think they're going to go for texans. >> i'm going to have to turn to the rupert murdoch crisis. >> thank you. >> the prime minister of great britain has said that james murdoch has to come before parliament again and clarify statementsts how serious an issue is this being taken at your network? >> well, it's -- you know, it's a story. we've been covering it a lot. thank god i cover wall street and don't have to report on my boss. but here's the thing. if you look at this from a purely business standpoint, you know, i think the stock fell to $1 a share. 19 was the high.

after rupert murdoch spoke, it went up to $17 a share. when they heard his explanation, they believed him. confidence was returning back. i watch a lot of corporate executives go before congress and similar panels and they flub it. you know, they lose confidence in the market and wall street and that did not happen this time. >> the cover of fox and "the wall street journal" has been embarrassing for journalism. >> we've been covering it -- >> i i"the wall street journal," forget fox, nobody really expects fox to do -- >> fox has been covering this very seriously, arianna. >> "the wall street journal" editorials, whitewashing what is a very very serious scandal. >> the company has -- >> to discuss this more in the green room. >> although i think we've covered this well. we have straightened reporters that have covered this all day. >> and on that note, coming up, the long road back to a washington that works. i'll ask former senate majority leaderertrent lott and tom daschle if it's even possible.

to break through today's p partisan paralysis. their take on the debt showdown and the path forward next. anananthis...is the network. a living, breathing intelligence that's helping drive the future of business. in here, inventory can be taught to learn. ♪ machines have a voice. ♪ medical history follows you.

it's the at&t network -- a network of possibilities... committed to delivering the most advanced mobile broadband experience to help move business... forward. ♪ but when she got asthma, all i could do was worry ! specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all. we have access to great specialists, and our pediatrician gets all the information. everyone works as a team. and i only need to talk to one person about her care. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. well, i think the best thing we can do is to work together to try to seek a common agenda. we've got to govern and we've got to put politics aside when the

105th congress starts and i pledge to do that with my minority leader trent lott. >> we will continue that effort to do what is right for our country. >> senators trent lott and tom daschle on this program nearly 15 years ago just before the 1996 elections. fierce partisans to be sure but happier warriors than the lawmakers on capitol hill today. this week with tempers flaring, it has boiled over. exhibit a, the war of words between two florida congress members, republican alan west and democrat debbie wasserman schultz and she criticized west. west's response, a furioio e-mail to his colleague when he said, you are the most vile, unprofessional and despicable member of the u.s. house of representatives. you have proven repeatedly that you are not a lady and, therefore, shall not be afforded due respect from me." so how does washington move past this partisan rancor? joining me with some answers are

those two former senate majority leaders, tom daschle and trent lott. a little grayer but still smiling and still sitting together. >> just a little. ? that's right. >> so what is it? is it a nostalgia for a past that never was, is it brinksmanship as usual or is there a different tone? >> some people ask me how did we make it work when president clinton was president and when the republicans were in charge of the house and senate. first of all, we did have both bodies. and it is more difficult if you have one body of the congress of one party and the other of another party, but it was never that easy. when we were tryryg to get welfare reform and, you know, tax cuts, actually balance the budget and a lot of other issues, tom and i went through things like 9/11, anthrax, impeachment trial. all those were extremely difficult, so first my main point would be it was difficult then too, more than we realized. tom and i became good friends through it all. >> how did you? how did you, senator daschle?

>> well, christiane, i think, first of all, trent is exactly right. this is not new. we have the famous caning incident 120 years ago where a house member came over and beat the life out of a senanar in the name of an issue that they both cared about a lot. so there have been fights and squabbles and bitter, bitter partisanship and name-calling all through history. what happens sometimes is leaders will come together and find the common ground required to govern. you've got to at some point put governance ahead of ideology and when that happen, we get the best result. >> do you think president obama has done enough of that, really building personal relationships like you used to do in your time? do you think he has? >> well, i think it's a difficult time right now. i think there are different personalities, and, you know, every time you have a change, it takes a while to develop relationships. you know, trent and i have a far different relationship today than we had 30 years ago when we started, but you develop that

relationship over time, and a lot of these personalities, these leaders are new, so there isn't the trust, there isn't the comity or appreciation for relationship-building that will come over time. >> tom and i had some basic rules. we agreed we wouldn't surprise each other and we would try to advise each other what the schedule was going to be and both of us stuck to that pretty well. every now and then we'd make a mistake, but i was willing to say, hey, tom, i'm sorry. i didn't do that one right, but i want to say this too, i think that probably there is more of a relationship in communication between harry reid and mitch mcconnell than a lot of people realize and you've seen whether you agree with what they're doing or not, in the last week they've been talking about, okay, what do we do if we do have to go to a fallback final plan? and they've been widely communicating and working. >> the tea party freshmen upon whom all of this is being laid really who say compromise is a dirty word, are they complicating the picture? >> well, when you're a new

member, you have very strong feelings. i remember when i first came to the house, my attitude was i wanted it my way or not at all. and over the year, i found out that if you take that attitude, what you get is nothing. you got to be prepared to do some compromising. it's not a dirty word. it's part of the legislative process. when you've got in the senate 100 united states senators from different regions, different philosophies and backgrounds, you have to find some common ground. it's never easy, so i don't lay the blame on these new members. i do think, though, we're dealing with much more difficult times. during the reagan years when we had a big budget reduction, it was 60 billion. when we had the big agreement with clinton, again, we're talking about billions. they're talking trillions now. >> so it's huge. >> it's huge, and it touches everything, defense and taxes and entitlements, discretionary spending and trying to get thehe right blend and result is not easy. >> let me ask you about

presidential clout. president obama made it a big deal in his press conference about not having his phone call returned. i mean, is that odd? can you imagine a president calling congress and not getting his call returned? >> well, i have to say i think i can recall times in the past where, you know, if you don't have anything you can say to the president, you're going to wait until you've got a constructive comment to make. i don't think he didn't get the call. he didn't get the call in the time he expected, but, you know, they're all in this together. they realize that, and now they're bumping up against a real deadline. it may be 4:00 this afternoon. it may be next -- august 2nd, but they know w ey've got a shorter and shorter time frame, sosohose calls are going to get returned, i guarantee you. >> and, quickly, one word on this. do you think they get the deal? will they raise the debt ceiling? >> i think they will, and i think we'll see something this afternoon, and i think next week they'll lay out a process that will get the results so, yeah, i hi they'll get it. >> i agree with that. i think we know that the consequences of failure here are

just too great and both -- all sides know that, and i think they're going to come to an agreement sometime shortly. >> thank you both very much, indeed. >> thank you. > thanks for coming in. and up next, here come the grooms. we take you to new york city where it's wedding day for hundreds of gays and lesbians at the city office. scores of same-sex couples are already lining up to get married. i will ask mayor michael bloomberg why he's taken up the white house in his future.s

same-sex marriages are now under way in new york, the largest state in the country to make them legal. the law went into effect at midnight, and today nearly a thousand couples in new york city alone plan to make it official. mayor mimiael bloomberg was a major force behind the new law and this afternoon he will officiate at the wedding of two his top aides, john feinblatt and jonathan mintz. the wedding will trach place at gracie mance where i caught up with them. thank you all for being here. mr. mayor, this was all your idea, wasn't it, to marry your two aides? >> well, i don't know -- >> did you pop the queststn? >> i don't know that i can take credit for that, but john and i

had a talklkand i said i don't know what your plans are but if you would like, i would make an exception for nothing but my kids and former mayors, and i would be honored if you wanted me to perform the ceremony. >> were you shocked? what did you think? were you planning on getting married? >> well, sure, we had planned to get married. i think the mayor sort of pushed the schedule along. you know, my initial reaction was to just say yes on the spot, but i thought to myself in matters of marriage you probably shouldn't make >> that's the difference. you'll learn that in top. >> very wise choice. very wise choice. the two of them popped the question, which was very romantic. >> you've been together, the two of you, for more than a decade. what difference will this really make? >> we have two children, an 8-year-old and a 6-year-old and to our daughters this will make a huge difference to them to feel like everything is equal and we're all treated the same. >> if you remember when the founding fathers wrote the constitution, women couldn't vote or hold office. homosexuals faced the death penalty in some places. african-americans could not

vote. nonproperty holders could not vote, and over the years, we have rectified injustices or improved on equality, and there's always some more things you can do, but to me america has always stood for the freedom to practice your religion, say what you want to say, do what you want to do as long as it doesn't hurt others. and also not impose any one person's religion on others, and in this case it's doing both. >> do you worry, are you concerned, for instance, john and jonathan, that there might be a backlash? >> no, i think people's views are evolving on this, and i think they're evolving very rapidly. if you look at the polls now of people who are 35 and under, 70% of them approve of marriage equality, and i think in less than a generation, people are going to look back and say what was this all about? just the way we think what was this all about that different races had a drink at different water fountains. >> i wanted to ask you about a

leading contender for the republican nomination, michele bachmann, who has said in the past, quote, she's called homosexuality personal bondage, despair and enslavement. she's related it to satan. what do you make of her comments? >> well, the first thing, if she believes in something, she should stand up for them. michele obviously feels very strongly about this, but i couldn't disagree more. she has a right to run for president, and if the public wants to decide with her, they will. the values she espouses that the republican party espouses are exactly the values that should be promoting this. they want the government out of your personal life. the government should not tell you who you can marry, and they think that marriage is a stabilizing influence on society, and they value the sanctity of marriage, and here are two people who want to get married. >> when you talk to fellow mayors, what do you think is the likelihood of this becoming, you know, the norm? >> it's going to take off simply because of the economics and the

young people as they have more and more influence on the political process as they get older. as they vote, as they support campaigns, nothing is ever 100%. but this is a trend that's growing, and it's going to grow very rapidly partially b bause new york is such a bellwether and so visible, and so when we do something, a lot of people, they don't necessarily copy it but they look to see whether it would be appropriate for them, as well. >> john and jonathan, did you ever think this day would come? >> i can tell you that the answer is no. >> later today the mayor will marry john and jonathan here in the backyard of his official residence, gracie mance. when you look at years down the line, how doou think you will define this moment? >> w wsee it as this pivot point on this issue. certainly it will be in our for new york, i hope it will nd feel like a pivot point for america. >> i then spoke to the mayor about the economic showdown in washington. you've said that if the debt

ceiling is not raised, it would be catastrophic. tell me what you mean by that. >> well, i don't think anybody will look ever again at america and the dollar as the reserve currency where this is the standard by which all other risks are measured. the world won't come to an end. we will find a way to pay people afterwards and get government going again. but it puts the doubt in the back of people's minds that you would find it very difficult to erase. it's one seismic event that says you can never depend 100% on america's word anymore. >> the white house says there have to be revenue, as well as spending cuts. do you believe that? >> absolutely. there's just no ways if you look at the numbers, you can't cut enough to balance the budget and if we're going to eliminate the deficit and reduce the debt, you have to raise money from someplace. it is also true incidentally that america is very low tax compared to other developed countries.

so nobody likes to pay taxes. everybody says, my taxes are too damn high, and they're right except that if we want services and the services we want, we want to protect democracy, you have to have men and women willing and able to go overseas and be able to be supplied. >> you're a very wealthy man. would you agree to have your taxes raised? >> oh, yeah, i pay -- i give a big chunk of my money away to charity and the rest gets taxed at fundamentally the h hhest rate. i don't have any tax shelters other than the money i give to charity is not taxable, but the rest i pay my tacks and i get pretty good value for my taxes. i live in the greatest democracy in the world and my kids have all the opportunities, and you talked before about equality and marriage and everything else. we get a lot for our tax dollars. >> but, for instance, it's the bush taxes on the wealthy were left to expire, that's fine for you? >> i ihink right now is not the right time to let those tax cuts expire but if you told me six months or a year from now when the economy

was better and job creation was better, yeah, i don't have a problem with that. >> and in this campaign season, the mayor left no doubt about his own political future. your spokesman told "the new york times" that you will "never run for office again." is that true? >> i have. you know, maybe the president of the book club, something like that but, no, i've had an opportunity for -- to have what i think is the best job in government. i think it's a better job than the president has. my sympathies go out to him. he's got to deal with congress every day. >> so you won't run for president of the united states. >> i have no plans whatsoever and the answer to your question is unequivocally no, i will not run for president of the united states, nor do i think i'd get elected, but no. >> mayor bloomberg. we'll be right back. i have a drug problem. 10% of the world's medidine is counterfeit. affecting over a billion people a year. on a smarter planet,

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providing decades of cleaner burning energy for our country, drilling thousands of feet below fresh water sources within self contained well systems and using state of the art monitoring technologies, rigorous practices help ensure our operations are safe and clean for our communities and the environment we are america's natural gas. last week we told you how somalia is suffering an epic drought. millions of lives hang in the balance in what the united nations is calling the greatest humanitarian crisis on the planet right now. well, now there is new information as well about how terrorists are finding opportunity in this tragedy. abc was the first american network on the ground covering the story, and lama hasan joins us from the refugee camp in kenya.

lama, even after all this time, the aid organizations are having difficulty getting the food to the most needy, aren't they? >> reporter: absolutely, christiane, and good morning to you. yes, just to give you an idea, a perspective of how big dadaab is, it is not just one camp. it is made up of three separate camps, so it's very difficult to gegeto those people spread out. we met families that have come from somalia and had been living here for three weeks, and they still haven't received their rations, so they haven't had any food, and the reason is because there's a huge backlog that aid organizations need to clear. in fact, they estimate that by the end of this week there will be a 30,000 refugee backlog that they think they can clear by september, so until then, until the refugees are registered, they won't be able to get their rations, they won't be able to get their food. they're going to have to rely on their neighbors in the camp. they're going to have to beg them for food, and they themselves don't have a lot to eat. now, as you can imagine, christiane, there are so many stories.

every time we go into these camps, we hear heart-wrenching stories about the long journeys that these families have been making from somalia to get here, and we wanted to tell you about one little boy. unicef called us yesterday to tell us we have to meet this one boy. and it turns out by remarkable coincidence that we had already met him. here's his story. his name is adan. 3 years old. he was so weak, so malnourished, so desperate and in one of our first days in this sprawling place, we found him barely hanging on. is he going to be okay? >> yes, it will be okay. >> reporter: adan like so many children had made the long grueling trek from somalia. with his parents, grandmother and three siblings in search of food and water, safety, in search of survival. they made it here after a grueling 25-day trek but at a terrible cost. adan's mother died making the journey.

his father t td us she sacrificed herself for her children giving them her food along the way. that was monday. we went to see adan again yesterday. so how is adan doing? "he is getting better," his father said. he is making progress, but it is slow progress. the doctors tell us his young body has suffered greatly. his road to recovery will be a long one. >> he hasn't taken much weight. but he's not going down. it doesn't mean he's okay. >> reporter: it means he's stabilized? >> he's stabilized. >> reporter: he still needs to gain 15 pounds, so the boy now has a feeding tube through his nose until he is strong enough to eat on his own. as we left adan clinging to his father, we looked around the hospital ward. it was full of these young helpless, heartbreaking children and while we left believing little adan will be all right,

we couldn't know about the other boys and girls here and more are coming every day. and thestory of adan and his family illustrates what's going on here, how difficult it is for these families to live. >> lama, they're in relative safety and security in kenya where you are. but in somalia, the w wst of it, al shabaab, the terrorist group is using this hunger and particularly food as a weapon. how much is that hampering trying to attack the problem at its base really in somalia? >> reporter: exactly. what you're saying is absolutely right. that's what aid organizations are saying, that they need to tackle this at the source in somalia but it's very difficult for international aid organizations to operate in somalia because al shabab had so mall gentleman and in the past they have taxed these organizations and they've made it feared that east aid organizations are not welcome to operate there so they have been faced with threats. they've been accused of being spies. a lot of aid organizations have had to pack up and leave somalia but there are a couple who still

operate mr. namely unicef and wfp. it's very difficult to operara on the ground there. >> lama, thank you and thank you for bringing us this mororng important story. and we want to thank that our viewers for responding and their generosity so far. you can still help bring relief to the region by going to abcnews.com/thisweek for information on how you can donate. we'll be right back. right back. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ look at that car, well, it goes fast ♪ ♪ givin' my dad a heart attack ♪ [ friend ] that is so awesome. ♪ i love my car [ engine revving ] [ male announcer ] that first chevy, yea,

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and now "the sunday funnies." >> well, texas governor rick perry said god is calling on him to run for president. but michele bachmann said that god is calling on her to run for president. you know, if god is that indecisive, he'll probably go with mitt romney. he can't make up his mind. >> in a new interview president obama says he wants a debt ceiling deal for his 50th birthday, but then he was like if i can't have that, ipad. republicans are no longer allowed to say that people are rich. creator. to refer to them as job you can't even use the word "rich." you have to say this chocolate cake is so moist and job creator. my favorite comic book is "job

creator-e job creator." >> we'll be right back. creator." >> we'll be right back. hi, hi, anne. how are you doing? hi, evelyn. i know it's been a difficult time since your mom passed away. yeah. i miss her a lot, but i'm okay. wow. that was fast. this is the check i've been waiting for. mom had a guaranteed acceptance life insurance policy through the colonial penn program, and this will really help with the cost of her final expenses. is it affordable? it costs less than 35 cents a day-- that's pretty affordable, huh? man: are you between the ages of 50 and 85?

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>> mr. speaker, the president of the united states. >> while we've gotten much better, we need to get much better still. >> we remember all of those who died in war this week. the pentagon released the names of 17 soldiers and marines killed in iraq and afghanistan.

somewhere in america, there's a doctor who can peer into the future. there's a nurse who can access in an instant every patient's past. and because the whole hospital's working together, there's a family who can breathe easy, right now. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest healthcare questions. and the over 60,000 people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens. answers.

that's it for our program today. thank you for watching and we'll see you next week.

in the news this sunday, the revealing new pictures in the bryan stow investigation. same-sex couples are getting married in new york. join us next for the news at navigating today's real estate market is complicated. you've seen the signs. that's why having the right real estate agent is more important than ever. at remax.com, you can find experts in short sales or bank-owned properties or commercial real estate, agents who can help speed up the process,